The Domino Effect on the Layout

Why not dig a larger basement while you're at it? 

Been there, done that...

No sweat, I just added the benchwork, working on the connecting bridge, and I'll have a ten track yard.   The area was empty, since that was always my plan.

This all started in my furnace room only needing the track my dad left me.  Since moving into the main part of the basement it's expanded from 7' X 12' to 7' X16' to 7' X 20'. Kind  of like a snowball rolling down a hill.

I find this thread hilarious!

-Greg

At least you have the room to expand. My 4X8 layout is land locked and I can barely maintain a walking path to my work shop.

OOPS, there goes my freight yard expansion!

I have to laugh, @Tom Tee is trying to get me to expand further, so this little bump-out is really designed for an O72 curve to yet more benchwork.   However, one minor little problem is the door that needs to be accessible.   That's the Domino Effect here, Mr. Domino himself!

Gunrunner, don't let a little thing like a door stop you!

I'm more worried about the buckshot from my wife when she sees the door blocked!

Maybe you could try moving the curtains in about three feet from the door

John, relax, it will be just another lift out.

Here is a shot at two truss's and one arch bridge growing in front of our outside door.

Note also the four wire molding runs for the 110 and various block circuits.   Doors are only a speed bump in layout development.

Here are two more:

I had Brad Strong fabricate a variety of different radii fully soldered curve track sections so we would have rigid curved sections to glue down and then slice the break.  Also note the turnout received the same treatment so it could be sliced as needed. 

For Gunner's lift out over to the new engine service facilities  It would be helpful to use a couple sections of rigid Ross 072 curved sections to glue in place to help maintain R.O.W. integrity. 

Note the square brass dowels

LOL DunningStation, you just described every home improvement project I’ve started for the last 40 years!  Glad to know I’m not alone.

John

This is the story of my RR built essentially without any formal plans, just an over all idea for peddler freight service on multiple branch lines.   I would not even want to hazard a track plan.  But trust me the Domino effect has been in full swing at my place.

I started with a 30' X 40' "L" shaped switching layout then thought to go into an 10' X 15' alcove, then a 40' long wall looked unused except for a non supporting additional cinder block wall which took two days to remove.  It just so happened that the last course of block removed allowed for passage around another corner to an additional wall which was great for another town.

Meanwhile at the other end of the "L",  Jani G. asked me to help remove Joe's layout so I wound up with the White Top, so that prompted a sweeping U curve to tie it in on that end.  So here I am with a rather large "C" shaped layout and I got to wondering, how much work to connect them.  That thought got parked for awhile because they were on two different levels.  Well it just so happened  that a knee wall in my work room shared the same water level with one end of the layout so out came the Saws All and presto another storage yard.

While all this was coming together I noticed that a five foot reach was too much for a mid town yard.  So I contracted with our HVAC guy to remove the tank water heater which was pinching the yard aisle and install a tankless heater in the corner out of the way.  This allowed for me to flip over the yard bench work which created an access aisle.

This module flipped over to create the access aisle.

After laying out some yard track I saw a way to jump over to another set of bench work frames to make another yard.  That opened to door to drop a lower run to go under the original bench work to have a storage yard.

1% grade descending to the hidden staging yard

After firing up the laser I discovered that the storage yard was close to the same height as the knee wall in the work room so out came the Saws All again.

While laying the track in the new workroom staging yard I saw the opportunity to have our plumber relocate the water meter

and bring a second level storage yard in over top.

Two TTs serving 3 branch lines

Done.

Now with all the new staging I found the need for a couple more turntables.  Another module, another pair of TTs.

Now with a 32" TT I had a place to park my long locos which now called for another add on module.

Whisker tracks curved to clear aisle

I did notice that a high town had some space under it so some more special siamesed switches..

4 curved 72" radius curved yard approach

provided a 4 track x 16' stub yard which was converted to a double ended yard with another long bridge.

<<New found yard space

Looking at the almost, but not finished RR wood work I saw how I could use a couple of display modules I had toured with.   Due to the appearance of a case of claustrophabia coming on I mounted the new modules on wheels lying to my self how I could just move them out of the  way if need be.  (Never happened.)

Movable base for modules X 2

Another display piece wound up butting to a TT feeder which was fine until I saw the need of another town.  This led to some more of Brad's custom switch work

64" / 140" radius wye and crossing

and suddenly there was 4' X 13' town on a sweeping curve with multiple businesses.

<<Extended end of line for one of the branch lines

With much of the basement getting filled I saw this three rail MTH Galloping Goose running and thought it might be cute to see it running a little bit in the back ground on a shelf.  Well that became a jumping off point of finally revisiting my 3 rail child hood.  I now have two water wing loop to loop high rail runs one at 22" and the other at 55"  with 75 and 35 foot runs with 3 or 4 levels of two rail depending on how you count them..

Despite the rambling description, what I now have is  a feeder interchange from the "Big City" which brings in commuters and peddler freight service to five diverging branch lines in 2000 sq. ft. each on a different level and each with a run around and TT at the end of each line.

All walk around, no duck unders, 13 bridges, 115 turnouts, lots and lots of track, no idea,  9 DC power packs, 11 AC transformers, 120 toggled blocks,  about 5k ft of wire then after discovery of on board battery R/C, the wiring stopped.

Now it seems like I need an electric locomotive service module for my juice jacks, the adventure continues...

Yes, Dominos can wreak some big happenings.

Domino effect indeed !!!!

I needed more space so I bought a new basement. My wife insisted that a house comes with it. So we bought a new house. We needed money to close so we sold the current house.

We close on the new house the end of September. The photo is from the realtor. No the instruments are not mine, but the basement is!

i needed a new hot water heater,,sooooooooooo,,,,,it was gas,,,,got an electric one,moved to the back of the basement wall ,,,then put up 12 feet of shelves in its place,and added a 8x6 extention to the layout,,new track and added an 8"x8' onto the extention i just added,,,,,never ends but oh the joy!!

Another apt metaphor for the "Domino Effect" for train layouts is ... a "Bottomless Pit."  However, some hobbyists with a runaway imagination also have a basement or attic or wing on the house as a playground for their ever-expanding layout. More power to them!

My L-shaped home layout is maxed out within an L-shaped addition to our house, so my only expansion option is to build UP, not OUT with a "nosebleed route" near the ceiling.

Mike Mottler   LCCA 12394

Sean007:  Wow,  what a large canvas in which to work your magic.

@Tom Tee posted:

Sean007:  Wow,  what a large canvas in which to work your magic.

Thanks Tom - after all of those years of temporary layouts or sharing garage space, it'll be nice to lay down some permanent track!

@Sean007 posted:

I needed more space so I bought a new basement. My wife insisted that a house comes with it. So we bought a new house. We needed money to close so we sold the current house.

We close on the new house the end of September. The photo is from the realtor. No the instruments are not mine, but the basement is!

Can't wait to see what you do with that space, especially since the size and configuration are very similar to mine.

@Mallard4468 posted:

Can't wait to see what you do with that space, especially since the size and configuration are very similar to mine.

Thanks Mallard! Once we are in the house, I can get to work.

Sean 007,  Don't count on your floor to be flat and level.

For an around the wall layout consider buying or renting a 360 horizon level and shoot your walls, stair case and support columns with a common datum line.

I marked a line approx 37" high for my wall mounted support knees which on which 3 1/2" modules are mounted then 3/4" ply plus 1/2" Homasote yielding a base of  41 3/4" at the mid point of  a tilted concrete floor pitched to a sump.

If it would be helpful I could provide additional photos.

The wall between the train room (a.k.a. living/dining room) has been looking very vulnerable lately.

Jan

I suppose I could install a helix up to the first floor and take over the dining room...

John,  Just say the word, we can start on that on Monday...Send the wife to Vegas for the week...

@Tom Tee posted:

John,  Just say the word, we can start on that on Monday...Send the wife to Vegas for the week...

We'd have to send her to AC, she's not really interested in flying right now with all the crap that's going on.

Too close, let her drive to Vegas, that will give us additional time.  It will be much easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission.

There will be no forgiveness if there are trains all over the dining room!

Only dine by candlelight.  She'll never see the trains,

Jan

@Jan posted:

Only dine by candlelight.  She'll never see the trains,

Yep, that would totally fool her... NOT!

Scare her by letting her see you with a tape measure checking out the dinning room then announce because the joists are running the wrong way that you will be confining the trains to run along the wall on both sides of the basement.

I don't think she gives a hoot what I do in the basement, it's just when I move it upstairs that there will be trouble!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I have to laugh, @Tom Tee is trying to get me to expand further, so this little bump-out is really designed for an O72 curve to yet more benchwork.   However, one minor little problem is the door that needs to be accessible.   That's the Domino Effect here, Mr. Domino himself!

John just add another lift section just have it go higher so guys like me don’t need to duck down to go under it. Besides it is only one door and only has to be 32 inches wide!😂

Rick, ducking is better than crawling under, just remember that!

Those wonderful basements still turn me green with envy.   Having only enough basement for utilities meant searching elsewhere for pike space.   My first operational layout was perched high on the walls of our family room.  Hardly ideal when old bones begin to need easy access but t hat layout was great inspiration for another build.

I wouldn't recommend converting an attic into useable space but my other alternatives weren't nearly as DIY friendly or economical.  It began with modifying the basement stairwell to support a new attic flight where none existed before.  A lapse of interest postponed the build but by 2015 progress continued by converting basic attic space into a room.  While the stairs conveniently climax into the center of the room where only an around the wall layout could reside, there is still one duck under and one crawl under required for track access in corners. 

My take on the Dominos effect is forcing them to all stand on end culminating into a 6' high triangle.  The lengths to which we will go, eh?

Bruce

Almost makes me feel guilty to see all the clamps and carpentry some of you guys put into your layouts. Mines just 2X4s, plywood ,green paint for grass, black for roads, grey for sidewalks, and tan for dirt roads. If I'd known that it would end up this long, probably wouldn't have put some things so close together. NO WAY I'm going back to move wiring for buildings, switches, lights , and everything else. More pictures to come when I figure out what buildings I need to go where.

If you're having fun with your RR, that's all that counts.

This is not a domino effect; it's the law of unintended consequences.

There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly .................

Game almost over.